


Meetings at the shore

by yumerikka



Category: Bloody Mary - Samamiya Akaza
Genre: Hydra is a mermaid too, M/M, Maria is just a human, OC, One-Shot, Two of them, and sighs a lot as always, basically Mary as a merman, just classmates though, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-14 03:04:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11774178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumerikka/pseuds/yumerikka
Summary: “Um”, Mary spoke up again, and waited till Ichirou looked at him. “You won't... do anything to me, right?”“Do? Like what?”, Ichirou asked, though he about got the idea.“Di-dissect me or s-sell me off... or something like...” He trailed off.“Look, I won't do anything. Honestly, I don't really care. Can you get back into the water alone?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Finding love is hard? Try searching that from the ocean](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9874757) by [meinstorie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meinstorie/pseuds/meinstorie). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read a fanfiction about mermaids (mermen to be honest lol) and had this idea.  
> Basically before I knew it, I was writing this one-shot.  
> Anyway, please do read! :D

Ichirou stared into the astonishingly red eyes. Their color was almost as extraordinary as the tail in the same color, lying still in the water where this boy's legs should have been.

He had seen the red-haired boy lying on the beach, the water up to his chest, seemingly unconscious.

Ichirou had concluded that pulling him out of the water first would be the best course of action. Now he wasn't so sure about that anymore.

The kid – mermaid? No, wait, merman? – in front of him squeaked, literally squeaked before trying to scramble away, what didn't go so well. He only managed to sort of twist his tail around and fall back onto the sand, face first.

Ichirou sighed. Somehow, this would prove to be really annoying, he thought. The last thing he needed after a two-hour-long bus ride with his hyped up and singing classmates was a _merman_. Seriously, how had this even happened.

He was just contemplating if he should simply stand up and walk away, when the merman spoke up for the first time.

“Wh-who are you?”, he asked, shivering, which left Ichirou wondering if he was actually _cold_. Which shouldn't be the case. I mean, he was talking _mermen_ here. Not that he knew much about them.

“Isn't it impolite not introducing yourself first?” His voice came out flat. Blame the situation.

“O-oh, umm, I-I'm Mary...” He gave Ichirou a puppy-look that somehow made his eye twitch in irritation.

After another sigh, he answered. “Ichirou. Rosario di Maria, though you don't seem to care about last names.”

“Oh. I don't have one.” _Mary_ – what was with the girly name, but well, maybe it was a common thing for mermen – seemed to have forgotten to stutter, and now even managed a childish smile.

“I guessed as much.” Ichirou couldn't say why he had thought so, but somehow this kid and a last name didn't seem to fit. Did merfolk need last names?

“Um”, Mary spoke up again, and waited till Ichirou looked at him. “You won't... do anything to me, right?”

“Do? Like what?”, Ichirou asked, though he about got the idea.

“Di-dissect me or s-sell me off... or something like...” He trailed off.

“That's a scary word you have there. Do you know what it means?” The only reply he got was a stare out of big eyes, so he sighed for the third time.

“Look, I won't do anything. Honestly, I don't really care. Can you get back into the water alone?”

 

* * *

 

No, he hadn't been able to reach the sea by himself, hence it had ended in Ichirou unceremoniously throwing the merman over his shoulder and carrying him to where the water was deep enough.

He sighed as he made it back to the cottage he shared with his childhood friend Takumi and two others he barely knew. Mary had disappeared right after that, not missing the chance to thoroughly splash water on Ichirou with his tail, probably a payback for his roughness.

“What's up? Did you go play in the water?”

Ichirou started at Takumi's voice, he hadn't realized him sitting in the corner, reading. The latter closed his book as Ichirou only scowled at him. “Really, what happened? You were gone quite a while.”

Ichirou headed towards his bag to look for a change of clothes while answering. “Nothing really. Just a rendezvous with a Merman.”

Silence filled the room, and by the time Takumi eventually answered, Ichirou had a neat bundle packed in his arms and was ready to go take a shower.

“You... what??” His puzzled expression was so amusing that it managed to tickle a small laugh out of Ichirou. Well, it was more of a snort, really. He couldn't recall when the last time he had really laughed was. Even an amused snort was pretty rare nowadays.

Well, that was just how strange his encounter had been. Even Takumi seemed to notice this somehow. He didn't comment any further. Ichirou didn't know if he had actually believed him or not.

While standing under the shower, he tried to clear his mind of anything that would hinder him taking a short nap before it was time for lunch. He managed pretty well. His self-control, even when it came to his thoughts, was something he was rather proud of.

 

* * *

 

“Where are the other two?”, Ichirou asked when he returned to the living room after brushing his teeth that evening.

“Oh, yeah.” Takumi looked up from the book he was reading – it was the same he had been reading every free minute all day, and even though it was fairly thick, he was nearing its end – “Most of the guys and a few girls are doing some test of courage. I figured you wouldn't be interested, so I didn't tell you.”

“I see.” True, he wasn't interested. He had never believed in ghosts and fairy tales or the like. But it wasn't like he could prove they _weren't_ there, either. The image of a red-eyed, red-tailed merman was insistently making its way into his train of thoughts. He grimaced. Well, if he was being honest, he hadn't really expected to forget that easily. He had successfully been able to keep the encounter out of his mind for the rest of the day – credits to group activities –, but he guessed this was it. And truthfully, he couldn't deny he was slightly curious.

Who wouldn't be?

_Me, usually_ , a voice in the back of his head whispered. He chose to ignore it.

 

* * *

 

Ichirou shivered as he walked along the beach towards the area he had met Mary earlier that day. It had been warm throughout the day, but at night it was freaking cold. Why had he decided to come out here again? It wasn't like he had any guarantee the young merman would actually be there.

And – surprise – no one was there. That was exactly what he should've expected. Ichirou opted to sit down on one of the nearby flat rocks and watch the calm, moonlit waves for a while.

Not even two minutes had passed when he heard a soft splashing sound. A fin shimmered in the moonlight, and then he could make out a figure, lying in the shallow water, watching him out of somehow shining eyes.

“Mary?” he asked after a few moments of silence had passed. A double flick of the tail was the answer he got. Ichirou stood up and walked towards him, careful not to slip on the wet stones. He noticed Mary somehow seemed to pull back from him with every step he got closer. “What the heck?”, he asked, irritated. The merman flinched. Ichirou had come close enough to vaguely make out his face and the overtly guilty expression on it.

“U-um... I'm sorry – you know, for earlier... even though you helped me, I splashed water on you...”

“Damn right about that. What would you have done if I caught a cold?”, he said, only teasing the merman for the most part. He hadn't managed to hold on to that petty grudge for long.

“I-I'm sorry...” Ichirou rolled his eyes. Mary was looking incredibly down and was taking this way too seriously.

“Nevermind that. Aren't you cold?” He changed the topic, remembering how Mary had shivered during the day.

The merman blinked, gloominess temporarily forgotten. “I'm a merman, you know. It's way colder than here where I live.” Yeah, _figured_. Ichirou was ticked off even though it admittedly wasn't Mary's fault. He had just assumed. Mary continued talking: “Actually, I should be asking you that. Isn't it too cold at night for humans to be outside? I mean, what you're wearing covers most of your body, but –”

“Yes, okay, I get it.” Ichirou cut him off. “I was just wondering, since you seemed to be shivering this morning. And yes, I am cold, so I'll be going back now.” He felt the throbbing of a starting headache, and wasn't in the mood for talkative kids, be they merman or not.

“Oh”, Mary said as he turned around, so Ichirou looked back over his shoulder. “That wasn't, well... I wasn't cold, but, the smell...”

_The smell?_ Okay, he wasn't following at all. He turned back towards the merman, waiting for him to continue. Mary seemed to shrink under his expecting stare as he fumbled for words.

“Your, uh, blood...” His voice went quieter with each word. “It's... very special...”

“My... _blood_?” Ichirou asked incredulously. “You are aware that you're a merman and not a vampire, right?” Those words sounded more like a joke than they were meant to be.

For some reason, Mary perked up at that. “Vampire? Those fairy tale people that drink blood and turn into bats? I've heard of them! That's so cool!” Even in the dim moonlight Ichirou could see his eyes positively _sparkling_ with enthusiasm.

“Hey, Maria, do you know some stories? We only have tragic stories about why humans can't be trusted... Oh, but we have forbidden ones, too, like love stories between mermaids and humans, the girls whisper about them sometimes! But most of those end sad too...”

It took Ichirou a bit of processing before he noticed Mary had said his name for the first time – why he would choose his last name, he didn't know – and a few seconds more until he had sorted his thoughts enough to find back to his original question.

“What was that about my blood earlier?”

Mary froze.

“Th-that was...” Ichirou noticed too late that Mary was slowly inching backwards. “I – I can't tell! I'm sorry!!” And with that, he flipped around and dove out of his sight.

It was on his way back that he noticed the irony of Mary, a _literal fairy tale_ , being fascinated of other fairy tales. His second amused snort that day resembled a laugh a bit more than the first.

 

* * *

 

As he entered his cabin about twenty minutes later, Takumi was just finishing the last page of his book, holding his finger up and signaling Ichirou to wait. So he leaned on the wall next to the door and waited a few seconds til Takumi closed his book and looked up at him.

“Another date with your mermaid?” Ichirou could tell he was saying it only half jokingly.

“Merman”, he corrected matter-of-factly while making his way to the kitchen for some tea. He nudged his head towards the book lying next to Takumi. “What was it about?”

“This?” Takumi picked it up again. “A book about the merfolk.”

Ichirou blinked. “Wow.”

Takumi laughed at his expression and stood up to join him before explaining. “No, well, you see, I researched a bit about this place when I heard this was where our school trip would be going, and I found quite a lot of mermaid stories and rumors about sightings online. So I got a bit interested.”

“I see”, Ichirou answered while pouring tea for both of them. “So?” Takumi jerked an eyebrow at his question. “Did you learn anything?”

Takumi gave a little smirk. Ichirou was once again made aware of the fact that Takumi knew him well. That hadn't been a polite question to keep the conversation flowing. Ichirou didn't do those, unless he had to. Especially not with his childhood friend. Which could only mean that he had some genuine interest.

And yes, Ichirou being interested in _mermaids_ , be it his chance encounter or in general, was definitely something to smirk at. Ichirou barely even remembered the _names_ of the two other people in his group.

“A lot. But at the same time, nothing at all.”

“U-huh”, Ichirou said with a look that expressed the opposite.

Takumi's lips gave an amused twitch before he turned more serious. “No, really.”, he said while leaning his back against the counter, tea in his hand. “There are so many different theories about them and nothing certain. For example, some say that mermaid can live under us as normal humans, as long as they don't touch water.”

“Way to defy logic”, Ichirou remarked.

“Oh, come on! It could be that it only works starting from a certain amount. Anyway”, Takumi continued, “opposing to that there are parties who claim that mermaids can't even breath outside of water. Because they supposedly have gills, like fish. According to that they also say they don't have vocal cords. Meaning they can't speak.”

Well that one was false. Mary had been very much alive, even out of the water, and talkative enough.

It took a few minutes until Takumi came to the bloody theories.

“There's another interesting one. It says Mermaids live off human blood.” Ichirou needed a while to process that. “What?”

“Basically, they're like vampires. They have to suck human blood to keep their youth.” Takumi suddenly sounded a lot more serious than before and was giving Ichirou a warning look. “But, since nobody is allowed to know about them, they suck them dry. Compared to those glittery fairy tale mermaids, it's really grotesque.” _Yeah, that's downright horrifying_ , was what Ichirou thought as he tried to match that theory with Mary. No. Just no. Even though he couldn't deny the fact the merman had indeed apparently been intrigued with his blood, the image of _Mary_ , killing him by sucking his blood, was just... no.

“Well”, Ichirou was startled out of his thoughts by Takumi's voice, “I warned you, so just make sure not to get to chummy with your new friend.” Ichirou wasn't surprised be his earnest tone, really. Still: “Are you my dad?”

“No. I'm your childhood friend.”

“I'll keep that in mind for the next time I need someone to tick me off.”

 

* * *

 

“Aren't you afraid someone will see you?” Ichirou asked the next afternoon. They had free time until dinner, and he had just wandered to the place they had met two times on a whim, only to find Mary sitting on the flat rocks, tail flicking the water surface, in broad daylight.

Mary tilted his head. “I only came out when I recognized your smell though?”

“Are you a dog?” He decided to ignore the puzzled look in favor of reacting to what Mary had said. “I take it you mean the smell of my blood?”

The redhead flinched and turned away.

“Okay, look here. If you're not going to say anything, I'll just assume you live off killing humans and drinking their blood.”

“W-what?! No!! We don't kill people?” Mary stared at him, panicked. “Wh – why would you even think that –”

“Shh” Ichirou signaled _stop_ with his hand. “I get it already. But look, I can't trust you like this.” He wasn't even sure if the merman actually cared about Ichirou trusting him or not, but it was worth a shot.

It seemed to work, because Mary looked fairly dejected and started fidgeting, his eyes wandering back and forth between Ichirou's and the ground. “It – it's not like I wouldn't tell you... but I don't know how you'd react... a-and the rules...”

“The rules?” Ichirou arched an eyebrow. “I'd be willing to bet my home that you also have a rule you can't let humans see you?”

“Th – that's...” Mary completely averted his eyes now.

Suddenly a high-pitched noise interrupted them, carried over from the deeper waters.

The merman started, an expression that Ichirou could only describe as horror marking his face.

“I – I have to go”, he stuttered, sliding off the rocks. “I'm sorry!!”

And that counted the second time Mary disappeared from his sight whilst apologizing.

 

* * *

 

Mary dashed towards the deeper waters, his mind going into a frenzy. Had he been discovered? He didn't even want to think of that. The last person who had dared to appear before a human had been his twin brother, and he had paid with his life.

“So you met a human.” Those dreaded words made him stop dead in his tracks. He turned towards the voice – only to let out a relieved sigh.

“Hydra”

The platinum haired mermaid looked at him with an indifferent stare.

“You haven't forgotten what happened to _**Mary**_ , have you?” Mary had taken upon his twin brothers name. It was a custom for the merperson who had been closest to the deceased to take upon their name. There had been voices that demanded Hydra to do so, and not few of them. But Mary had felt guilty, and he still did. Guilty because he hadn't been able to protect them, _**Mary**_ and Hydra. He hadn't done anything. So when the merfolk had decided to execute his twin, the least he could do was protect Hydra's name, the name his brother had so dearly loved.

Mary's silence was enough answer to Hydra. Not that she needed one. “Of course you haven't. I apologize.” She let out a melancholic sigh. The merman's eyes shot up. “It's not your fault!”

“Yes, it is.” Hydra stated simply. “I fell in love with him, I, who had been human all my life, fell in love with a merman.”

“He was happy!” Mary exclaimed. “He loved you! So much that he listened to your wish and made you into a mermaid, he gave you his blood –”

“I know”, Hydra said with a soft smile. “I know that. And I don't think of it as a mistake. None of it. His death may have been my fault, but I don't regret falling in love with him one bit.”

She sighed again, deeper this time. “Enough of that. I pledged an oath and have lived as one of the merfolk for three years now, and I plan to continue doing so. No merit in dwelling on the past.”

Despite saying that, Mary knew that not a day passed without Hydra thinking of his twin brother.

“So, back to the point. Who is that human you've been meeting?”

Mary jolted. Crap. He was sure Hydra wouldn't tell on him, but she wasn't bound to approve, either.

“Out with it.”

Mary stayed silent.

“Do you like that human?” Mary clenched his teeth, not daring to meet Hydra's inquiring eyes. Hydra sighed for the third time. “I'm plainly curious. It's rare for you to talk to people openly, especially since three years ago. Theoretically, I'm your sister-in-law, so at least fill in your only family on this.”

“You never married...”, he dared to talk back, causing Hydra to give him a look that stated they both knew they would have married, eventually.

Another few seconds of silence passed.

“...ria.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Maria... his name is Maria”, Mary stated reluctantly. Hydra snorted. “ _His_ name is _Maria_?”

The merman blinked. “Is that weird? It's part of his last name though...”

“I see. That's fine then. Men on the surface usually don't have first names like that.”

“Why?” Mary asked, genuinely curious.

Hydra grimaced slightly. “They just don't.”

“I see...”

“Back to my question. Do you like that human?”

He considered the question for a bit before answering. “I don't know... He might be kind of mean? But he's not a bad person! He helped me when I was waiting for the tide because I couldn't get back into the water...”

“Is that how you met?”

Mary nodded.

“Jesus. So it was just you being careless. You're an airhead, do you know that?”

“Yes... I'm sorry...”

“Do you plan on meeting him again?”

He thought about what Maria had said earlier. “I guess... I want to answer his questions...”

Hydras eyes turned to slits. “What questions?” Mary only flinched. “Actually, don't tell me. I hope you know what you're doing. Do you trust him?”

He squirmed. “I don't know... Probably? I want to...”

“I understand.” Hydra closed her eyes, collecting herself. As she opened them again, they were nothing but completely earnest. “One more thing. I won't stand for loosing you too. If I notice any signs of danger, be it from the merfolk or humans, I won't hesitate to erase anything that could harm you. Including that person's life.”

Mary gulped. He could understand her well. This was what he should have done, when his twin started meeting Hydra.

“I understand.”

 

* * *

 

Ichirou was feeling restless. If he was honest, he was worried. Not like he would ever admit to that.

The way Mary had dashed away after that call – he was sure it had been a call – was unsettling, excruciatingly so.

He had waited a few minutes before returning to his cabin. He had chatted with Takumi, hell, he had even initiated a conversation with the two others, just to keep this uneasiness off his mind. It was infuriating how much he cared about this person he had barely met three times.

He tried to tell himself that he was simply bothered about the merman's well-being in a charity kind of way, but that would imply Ichirou was a straight-out friendly person. Takumi would have laughed in his face at that.

Ichirou stuck around after dinner, he even waited until the other two – Shiiba and Inoue, he knew their names now – had fallen asleep before he headed back outside, Takumi only throwing him a glance he wasn't sure was warning or amused.

Mary was waiting for him, sitting at the exactly same place. Ichirou chose to deny the relief he felt and scowled at him.

“Um, I'm sorry, for suddenly disappearing... again...”

He seemed to be searching for his next words, so Ichirou waited silently.

“Um, Hydra, she, oh, she's kind of my sister, I guess... She found out about us meeting...”

He dwelt on the ' _kind of_ my sister, _I guess_ ' part for a second, wondering if it was another mermaid thing not being clear about who your siblings are, but let it drop.

“Was she the one who called you?”

Mary blinked. “Oh, yeah...”

“So what now? Is she going to hand you over to your officials or something?”, he asked, briefly wondering if Mary even knew what officials were, but he apparently understood the meaning, at least.

“Oh, no, no! She won't do that. She would never...” The merman was still for a moment. “But she said she might kill you...”

Ichirou almost chocked. “She _what_?!”

“O-only if I'm in danger!” Mary hurried to explain. “And I'll make sure we won't get caught, I'll protect you, so...”

Ichirou blinked at the thought of the merman protecting him. Well whatever. They just had to run away fast enough if anything happened. Not that Mary could actually run.

Wait. No.

He had _not_ just thought about running away _together with Mary_.

He violently shook the thought off.

“Is meeting humans really such a bad thing? Since your sister seems pretty hellbent on ending me because of it.”

The merman averted his eyes a few moments, before he carefully turned his gaze back towards Ichirou. “Can I... tell you a story?”

“One of your tragic tales about mermaids and humans?”

“Yeah, just... this one is real.”

 

* * *

 

He was shaken. Ichirou had never thought that some kind of family drama could ever get to him, but he was positively roped in by the story of Mary's twin and _kind-of-_ sister. Maybe it was in the way how he was narrating, or maybe it was simply the fact that it was Mary telling the story. Okay, that sounded weird. But he didn't understand it himself.

He waited a few minutes to process everything before he asked his question.

“So, drinking mermaid blood can turn you into a mermaid. Is that correct?”

“Yes, well, it's not that easy, but... simply put, yes.” Mary was restless, he didn't seem to know where to put his hands.

_Good so far. But..._

“That doesn't explain why you're attracted to my blood, does it?”

The merman looked down at his fidgeting fingers. “Y-yeah, it doesn't.”

Ichirou arched his eyebrow. “So?”

“So... what?”

Ichirou's eye twitched. “Don't mess with me”, he growled.

Mary flinched. “I – I'm sorry...”

“Stop with the apologizing. I know this much already, so what does it matter to you? Out with it.”

The merman mumbled something under his breath about sounding like Hydra, which caused Ichirou to glare at him.

“Ugh... Um... we... by drinking human blood...”

“So you _do_ drink it.”

“No!! I mean, yes, but we don't need it to live, and we don't kill anyone because of it!” Mary shouted hastily. “... I think...”

“Hmmmmm” Honestly though, the way Mary stumbled over his words was kind of endearing. Or at least he would have thought so if his name wasn't Ichirou Rosario di Maria.

“I mean...!! I would never do that, I swear!”

“What do you drink human blood for then?”

“Uh, well, we don't, normally... It's just, when we drink it, we can... transform...”

“Transform? Into bats?”, he said half jokingly, remembering Mary fascination with Vampires.

“That would be really cool!” Ichirou only gave him a look, which caused the merman to stumble over his words once again. “Uh, I, no, I'm sor-... B-back to the topic, right...”

He waited for Mary to recollect himself.

“We temporarily, uh, get legs...”

_Legs?_

“Wait. So you're trying to tell me, that, for example, by drinking my blood, you could turn human?”

“Y-yes! But only for a limited time. After that, I would have to drink again...”

“How long is this 'limited time'?”, he inquired curiously. He couldn't believe he admitted to actually being genuinely curious.

“It depends”, Mary said thoughtfully. “If I drank a little bit from an average person, I could probably stay human for as long as the sun is out... Ah, just time-wise, of course, it has nothing to do with sunrise or sunset –”

“I got it.” He definitely hadn't sighed this much in two days his whole life. Probably. “What do you mean by average?”

“Oh, yeah. Maria, your blood is... special.”

_Special?_

Mary noticed his quizzical look. “Um, like, it's super strong! Yeah, that's it! I could probably stay human for three or four days with only two to three little sips! I don't know the exact time though.”

“Huh.”

The same high-pitched noise he had heard earlier – Hydra's call – sounded across the quiet sea.

“Oh, I gotta go!” Mary slid back towards the water. “Um... see you later?” He looked at Ichirou with a hopeful expression.

“Sure.” He didn't get any merit out of this, but he didn't mind talking with Mary. At least he wasn't bored.

 

* * *

 

When he got back, Takumi was lying on the couch, reading another book.

“So you finally came back. I thought you were eaten.” Ichirou rolled his eyes at that. He could hear the underlying tone of worry in his friend's voice though. He gave him a small, mocking smile. “Yeah right.”

Takumi looked at him with an expression he couldn't pinpoint. Scratch that. He didn't have the slightest idea what that expression meant.

“Maria.”

“Yes?” He wasn't sure if he wanted to know where this was going.

“Did you just...” Takumi got up from the couch. “Smile at me? _Genuinely smile_ at me?”

“... What the fuck?” Those were the only words he could find as an answer to that.

“Maria, are you okay? This may sound weird, but you're somehow... out of character?” Ichirou needed merely two seconds to think that over.

_He was right._

Not that that stopped him from flinging his jacket at Takumi.

 

* * *

 

“Have you ever turned human?” Mary simply pouted at Ichirou's question. “Mary.” The merman turned his head away.

Ichirou sighed. “Come on, are you still mad? I told you it wasn't my fault.” He had planned on coming to meet Mary yesterday, but the teachers had planned a surprise trip which they had announced at breakfast, so they had been in the nearby city all day.

“You could've come at night.”

“Mary, I was _tired_.” All day with his hyperactive group members – well, mostly Inoue, Shiiba had admittedly tried his best to stop him – had been exhausting. He had all but fallen onto his mattress the second he entered the bedroom.

“So what! I – I waited all day, you know!” Mary was totally sulking now. However, Ichirou was surprised. “You did?”

“I did...”, he mumbled grumpily.

“Huh”

“... What?”

“No, just...” Ichirou somehow managed a surprised scowl rather than the smile that was for some reason tugging at his lips. “I didn't think you liked me that much. Or at all, really.”

The merman blinked at him blankly. “Why would you think that?”

Ichirou gave a soft snort. “Well, let me think. I pretty much threw you into the water, I kind of made you talk against your will, and I'm not the nicest person to find in this world.”

Mary gave a look that clearly stated _So you are aware of it_ , which almost made Ichirou whack him on the head.

“But”, a childlike smile spread over the redhead's face, “You didn't tell anyone about me, you helped me back into the water, you listened to me, and you're still talking to me right now!” Some kind of realization hit him, and he went back to pouting. “But I'm still mad at you for yesterday.”

“Huh~?” Ichirou pulled on Mary's cheeks, partly because he was irked, but mostly to hide his embarrassment – not that he'd _ever_ admit that.

“I' showwee~” He whined. Ichirou let him be with yet another sigh.

The merman massaged his cheeks, mumbling something incomprehensible.

“So, did you?” Ichirou asked. Mary turned towards him with a questioning look.

“Turn human before.”

“Oh.” Mary let his hands sink to his lap. “Yeah, I did. Only once, though.”

“Hmm. When?”

“Three years ago.” Ichirou had a good guess on whose blood it had been, but he asked anyway.

“Whose blood did you drink?”

“Um... Hydra's.” Just as he thought. The merman fidgeted, and Ichirou waited for him to continue.

“I had always been fascinated with humans, y'know?”, he finally started. “I always wondered how it would feel like, walking on two legs. And then, one day, _**Mary**_ pulled me along to one of his and Hydra's meetings, and told me Hydra would allow me to drink her blood. I was unsure, but they both assured me it was fine, so I did.” He paused for a few moments. “I only took a tiny sip, since Hydra's blood was strong – uh, not as strong as yours, not even close – and it lasted for about half a day.” Mary gave a small grin. “By the end of the time limit, I was barely able to take a few steps. Walking on legs was harder than I had thought.”

_Hmmm._

“Have you ever thought of trying again?” The question was past his lips without Ichirou even willing to ask.

The merman perked up. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Ichirou decided to put a stop to his out-of-characterness. “Nothing, I was just wondering.”

He ignored the slightly disappointed look Mary was giving him and stood up. “I'm heading to lunch.”

 

* * *

 

“Our last lunch!” Inoue exclaimed as they entered the dining room. It took a few seconds for Ichirou to comprehend what he meant. _Oh, right._ Today was Thursday. They would depart before noon tomorrow. He hadn't thought about that, and he wondered if Mary knew. Probably not.

He suddenly noticed Takumi staring at him. “What's with that look?”, he asked, somehow unsettled.

“That's what I was about to ask you.”, Takumi answered. “You look gloomy. Something you aren't happy about?”

Ichirou grimaced as he noticed what his childhood friend was implying. “No”, he replied briskly. He couldn't let Mary get to him like this. They had meet literally three days ago. They wouldn't meet again after tomorrow. What did it matter if he knew about the merman's private circumstances?

Something told him he was right. It didn't matter. But not in the way Ichirou would have liked.

In a way that told him Mary would have gotten to him either way, with or without background story.

When he met Mary again later that day, he was certain.

This childish, tragic, pouting, excitable, red-haired/tailed/eyed merman had wormed his way into Ichirou's heart.

 

* * *

 

_How did it come to this?_ , he asked himself while watching Mary carefully taking one step after the other beneath the moonlit sky. He had gotten better at it over the past two hours and was already able to walk at a stable pace.

He didn't know what had gotten into him. Well, actually he knew, he just wasn't anywhere close to accepting it.

He had somehow ended up giving the merman his blood, leading to the situation now. They were strolling down the beach, alongside the water, Mary always two or three steps in front of him. “Maria, look!” Mary beamed at him for the probably twentieth time this night. “I'm walking! I can walk!”

Ichirou huffed. “Yeah, I got it already.” Mary's smile was doing funny things to his stomach. He didn't want to think about it.

He watched as the redhead slowly started making different steps and twirling around, dancing along the shore more than walking.

 

* * *

 

Hydra was swimming next to them, matching Mary's and Maria's pace, just out of their line of sight. She could see how happy Mary was, happier than she had ever seen him in the time since _**Mary**_ 's death. She sighed. She had seen the arrival of the students at the beginning of the week – sometimes, when she just needed some time to herself, she would come to the surface to clear her mind – and knew they would be leaving soon. Hydra had never been on a school trip, since she was home tutored during the time she was still human, but she knew they commonly weren't that long. Usually three to five days.

Mary had become attached to that Maria kid, and probably would't stomach it well when he left. And she didn't have to see the human's expression to understand that he cared about Mary in a way.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she dived under, letting herself be enveloped by the silent of the ocean.

Then she started to swim, slowly. Hydra had made her decision.

 

* * *

 

Mary suddenly stopped, staring ahead, they had turned around at some point and now arrived back at their usual meeting place. Ichirou directed his eyes in the same direction the merman was staring, towards the exact same flat where Mary was seated normally. Now someone else was there, turning her head towards the duo, waiting patiently.

Ichirou didn't even have to ask to know that this platinum-haired mermaid – at least that was how her hair looked in the moonlight – was Hydra.

As if to confirm his thoughts, Mary breathed out her name unbelievingly. “Hydra...?”

A few seconds of silence passed.

“Mary”, Hydra then finally said, looking at Ichirou afterwards. “And Maria, I assume.”

Ichirou only looked back at her, wondering where this was going. He followed as Mary bounded towards her, stopping three steps short of her, one and a half step behind Mary.

“Why... why are you here?”, the merman asked, obviously still shocked.

“To talk.” Hydra turned her attention back to Ichirou. “You are leaving tomorrow, is that correct?” He was surprised for a brief moment, before remembering that she probably knew how school trips worked.

“Yes.”

Mary looked at him, dumbfounded. “Wha-!”

“So?”, Ichirou inquired, trying his best to ignore the redhead's offended stare for now.

The mermaid sighed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don't want my only family to be moping, heartbroken, when you leave.”

_Heartbroken._ He returned Hydra's calm, examining stare with his own, while trying to make sense of the mess inside his head.

“Wait a moment!” Mary seemed to finally have snapped, and was grabbing onto Ichirou's arm, forcing his attention towards him. “You're leaving? Tomorrow?? Why – why didn't you tell me? How come I don't know about this...?!”

“Mary”, he said, effectively shutting him up for the moment. “I'm on a school trip. They usually last five days, at most. So yes, I'll be leaving tomorrow.”

The merman's mouth flapped open and close, in an effort to say something, anything. Ichirou could feel his fingers dig into his arm harder. He decided to bear with it for the moment and turned back to Hydra.

“So you suggest?”

Hydra only continued looking at him, but now he could make out something imploring in her stare. What she said next was too much for either of them to comprehend at first.

“Take him with you.”

Ichirou blinked, once, twice. Mary only stared at the mermaid, mouth agape. It took a few seconds before Ichirou managed to say something.

“I... beg your pardon?”

At that, the merman beside him started laughing hysterically for some reason, and Ichirou wondered if he should be concerned, but wasn't able to turn away from Hydra's earnest expression. She was _serious_.

“Um...” He pinched the bridge of his nose until he felt like he could make halfway sense of the situation. “Why?” Mary's laughter died away, and Ichirou could feel him repeatedly loosening and tightening his grip on his arm as he tried to cope with the situation. Poor guy was probably even more confused than Ichirou.

“He'll be happier that way.” Hydra stated simply, and Ichirou's look asked her to clarify.

“Since _**Mary**_ died”, she started, her assertive tone leaving no doubt she was sure Ichirou knew what she was talking about. Or maybe she plainly didn't care if he understood or not. He gave a small nod anyway.

“He hasn't been happy. The merfolk treats me as one of them, and Mary the same way they had before, or at least they try. But the fact that he is the _traitor_ 's twin brother and is now carrying his name is hard to ignore. They are doing better than you'd expect, but it's not the same, compared to the time before they met me. I can tell as much.” She sighed as Mary tried to interrupt, holding up her hand towards him. “Mary will definitely try to argue against it, but it's a fact that none of the merfolk of his own age try to befriend him, and the only people chatting with him from time to time are close friends of his deceased parents, feeling an obligation to make sure he's okay.”

Mary let go of Ichirou's arm, hands falling to his sides while he stared at the ground.

“Therefore”, her voice pulling Ichirou's attention back to herself, “I ask of you to take him with you, if there aren't any circumstances hindering you to do so.”

Ichirou contemplated. His parents didn't live at home, and he was on good enough terms with his neighbors that he could easily brush away any questions or concerns they would have towards Mary. One problem was how to get the teachers to take him along, but that could be arranged. The respected Ichirou enough anyway.

Yes, if he set aside that taking a merman home was _absolutely ridiculous_ , there were no problems, really. None at all.

He sighed, deeply. “Mary.”

The merman's eyes shot up at him. “Y-yes?”

“I can't believe I'm asking this, but what do you think?”

“Um?! Uh... I... don't really get what's going on here – but, um, I like being with you Maria... And I'd hate to leave Hydra alone...but, if Hydra says so...” Mary looked at the mermaid, somewhat confused and helpless.

She did something Ichirou wouldn't have thought, it didn't fit with what he'd seen up til now, but he guessed she _did_ do a pretty good job with the big-sister-role after all. She gave a warm, soft smile, which was more than enough answer. Mary teared up, closed the distance between them and hugged Hydra, sobbing silently. She tenderly hugged back, stroking his red hair.

 

* * *

 

“I didn't know you had relatives around here, Maria”, Shiiba said, staring at the redhead next to him as they waited to enter the bus. _Me neither_ , Ichirou thought.

“Apparently his parents had to go abroad for work suddenly, and they remembered Maria was near on his school trip.” Takumi explained what Ichirou had told the teachers earlier, giving Ichirou a strange look. Well, he was in the right, especially because Ichirou was pretty sure Takumi had a gist of what was going on here.

“Huuuh”, was all Shiiba said, while still eyeing Mary interestedly.

“So that means he's gonna stay with you from now on?” Inoue threw in.

Ichirou simply shrugged. “I guess.” He almost winced as he was uncomfortably reminded of the bite barks on his left shoulder, where Mary had drunken enough to stay transformed for maybe five days a few hours ago.

Mary pulled him to a seat pretty far in the back as soon as they entered the bus. While they waited for the rest of the class to take their seats, Ichirou watched Mary's eyelid drop, heavy with sleep. It wasn't long until He was leaning against the taller boys shoulder, breathing softly. Ichirou himself barely listened to the instructions the teachers were giving, and by the time they departed, his head was on top of Mary's, both of them fast asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How'd you like it? Feedback is very appreciated <3  
> Like rly, please comment xD


	2. 'Tis not a Ch#2

Sooooo I've been thinking.

Like, how about a one-shot on **_Mary_** and Hydra? Y'know, how they met in this AU and their story.

I'd find it pretty interesting to write, to be honest.

So, do you want me to? Or don't you?

FEEDBACK MORE THAN APPRECIATED ** _! ! !_**


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